#BowlsBlether Community Events - Marchmount BC
As part of our #BowlsBlether topic for the month of June, Marchmount Bowling Club in Dumfries reached out to tell us about how they plan each of their community events with accessibility and inclusivity in mind, to ensure everyone is welcome to try our sport. Considerations such as afternoon and evening events, a combination of fun and competitive playing opportunities, and an open invitation to the whole family to attend are just some examples of how this Try Bowls club opens its doors to everyone.
Read the report from the club below to find out about their experience of Try Bowls so far this season...
Try Bowls forms the cornerstone of our annual recruitment drive, we host a Try Bowls event early in the season to make sure anyone joining us gets the opportunity to play bowls throughout the whole of the summer. This year we saw 17 new members join us that day with more at our follow-on sessions on the following two Wednesday evenings with a total of around 30 new members this season.
At the start of the season, we run three sweeps a week which eventually reduces to two, one on an afternoon and the other on a Friday evening. New members are encouraged to take part in the sweeps to get to know folk within the club as well as develop their bowling. The weather early this year has seen almost full attendances with over 30 regularly attending and a maximum of 46 one Friday night. Friday night sweeps are followed by some refreshments in the clubhouse which again all helps in getting to know everyone there. Age, ability or disability is no barrier to play bowls and we welcome everyone to Marchmount.
We also host internal drawn competitions throughout the season and our new members are encouraged to participate. The winning team in the first competition this year involved one of our new members.
Prior to the start of the new season we were approached by Georgetown Primary School’s PE Specialist, looking to get Primary 5 pupils involved in something new. We agreed five weekly sessions with the same class on a Friday afternoon, with the final week involving parents/guardians/grandparents to give everyone a taste for bowls.
One of the club coaches has set up another session for youngsters after school on a Friday afternoon from 5.15pm. This session is open to everyone (not just members of the club) and we hope that the school sessions may develop more interest in the after-school sessions.
We try and keep connected with our members by having a very active social media group, a public facing page and if you don’t do these you can rely on the club noticeboard for information about what’s on at the club and roundabout.
Club President Alan Glendinning said “We have a great facility at Marchmount and we endeavour to make this available to as many people as we can, so whether you’re just looking for a new pass time and to meet new people or you aspire to be the next world champion there’s a place in bowls for you.”
To find your local community Try Bowls Club, enter your postcode in our Club Finder Map. If you want to join in on this months’ #BowlsBlether topic send us a photo and a couple of sentences explaining how your club ensures your community events are open and accessible to all – you can submit these via email to ashcousins@bowlsscotland.com or send us a message on Facebook.